UPGRADE Modem & Router HTPC Streaming

[dwjackson]

Existing Setup
Motorola SB 5120 Cable Modem
Cisco E1000 WiFi Router
Wireless-N
• 2.4 GHz Band for wireless access
• Guest Access to the Internet and not your private information
• Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) Ports to connect wired devices to the network

UPGRADE Modem & Router

Proposed Setup
Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
Product Features
Up to 160 Mbps downstream, up to 120 Mbps upstream
Front panel, easy to read operational LEDs to indicate status and simplify troubleshooting
IPV6 support - latest Internet communication protocol
Rear panel color coded for ease of installation
Technical Details
Brand Name: Motorola
Model: SB6121
Hardware Platform: PC
Width: 6.40 inches
Weight: 0.00 pounds

Netgear R6300 WiFi Router: 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit Router

Product Features
The industry's first 802.11ac router
Speeds 3x faster
Ultimate range
Perfect for current and future WiFi devices
Ideal for HD gaming & video
Easy install - Easy set up for your router and connected devices
NETGEAR GENIE® APP - Personal dashboard to monitor, manage and repair your network
Ports and Connectivity
USB Ports: 2
Cases and Expandability
Size (LWH): 12 inches, 10.1 inches, 4.1 inches
Weight: 3.4 pounds
Wireless
Wireless Type: 802.11 A/G

Primary Function Gigabit Ethernet to
Main PC i7-3770K
HTPC NAS
HTPC 1
HTPC 2
OTA HDHomeRun DUAL - High Definition Digital TV Tuner (Network Attached) HDHR3-US (Black) by SiliconDust

or Do I just need a 5 Port Gigabit Switch to accomplish my goal?

Any suggestions for best route for HTPC (opinions welcome!)

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I never was in to owning your own cable model, but I assume that swapping the cable modem would NOT give you these speeds anyway - You'll need to subscribe to faster plan.
In fact I have a docsis 3.0 cable modem and highers speeds. I subscribe to 50/8 plan and get 64/10 most of time

Regarding WiFi Router - While yes AC could be the next best thing -the standard is still not finalized and there very few devices which support it - you need both router and client to support AC protocol

I'd get one of fastest N simultaneous dual mode routers - Newegg.com - Refurbished: NETGEAR WNDR3700-100NAR N600 Dual Band Wireless Gigabit Router IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab
It's a great deal and it's benchmarked to work pretty fast and it has optimization for streaming videos.

Gentlemen, Start Your Buying: NETGEAR WNDR3700 RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router Reviewed - WLAN Security, Video Network, Wireless-Competitive, Closing Thoughts - SmallNetBuilder


That all said - Wired 100 (not even 1000) network would still be more reliable and faster 100 Mbps is more than enough to stream full bitrate BluRay 1080p/DTS-MA movies

 

[dwjackson]

Thank you very much!
I am upgrading my whole system at this time.
PCs - HTPCs - HD TVs - NAS - Router/Modem - AV Receiver - Speakers
(so I am leaping into the vast unknown on a few items!)
Just needed some solid advice.

 

[jonnythan]

The modem is an iffy upgrade. Chances are it won't actually do anything for you. If you're not getting rated speeds or are having occasional dropouts it might help though, as the DOCSIS 3.0 modem does multichannel down and the old one doesn't. Depends on the service.

The router upgrade is a good one. Gigabit is definitely the way to go. It's significantly faster at starting and fast forwarding (etc) HD video than 100 Mbps. Make sure your cabling is up to snuff - Cat 5E or 6 is a must.

Personally I would just toss in a gigabit switch though. The E1000 is a perfectly decent router. I highly recommend the blue Netgear switches. Get more ports than you think you need. You're already planning on using all 5 given your devices (remember one port is going to be uplink), so get an 8-port switch.

 

[Lordhumungus]

I fully agree with everything jonnythan has said, although I personally would spring for the gigabit router. If you don't, and you ever have any device on the other side of the switch, that device will be limited to 100MB when communicating with anything attached to the switch. While probably not an issue now, it may be in the future.

As for switches, I would always recommend getting more than you need because you can always use less ports than you have available, but you can never make ports appear out of thin air. Something like this would be my recommendation.

 

[dwjackson]

Thanks for all of the info.
I really appreciate sound (no pun intended) advice.

 

[dwjackson]

1 x NETGEAR GS108 10/100/1000Mbps Desktop Switch ProSafe Gigabit Ethernet with Jumbo Frame support $57.07

1 x Refurbished: NETGEAR WNDR3700-100NAR IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.3/3u/3ab N600 Dual Band Wireless Gigabit Router
$67.99

$125.06 Total includes TAX & S/H

Would I use only the switch ports for local network GB

GB NIC > SB5120 Cable Modem > WNDR3700 > NETGEAR GS108 > Everything else (HTPCs - NAS - Main PC - OTA Network Tuner)

There is a great wealth of information here and I applaud all of your efforts.
Thanks for sending me down the straight and narrow path!

 

[Lordhumungus]

Setup would be Cable Modem>Router>Switch>PC/Devices. You'll also be able to connect devices directly to the router.

Any particular reason you are going with the Netgear switch? It's $17+ more than what I linked for no appreciable gain. You don't need to match brands or anything like that if that was a concern for you. Just curious more than anything.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Setup would be Cable Modem>Router>Switch>PC/Devices. You'll also be able to connect devices directly to the router.

Any particular reason you are going with the Netgear switch? It's $17+ more than what I linked for no appreciable gain. You don't need to match brands or anything like that if that was a concern for you. Just curious more than anything.

+1

ps: this one would work as good any other gig switch
Newegg.com - D-Link DES-108 8-Port Fast Ethernet Switch 10/100Mbps 8 x RJ45 1K MAC Address Table

 

[dwjackson]

I just wanted to make a decision. Saving $$$ is always a good idea. I had good results with NETGEAR in the past. I value your opinion I probably should have waited a bit before I ordered.

thanks for all your advice I feel more confident now!

 

[Lordhumungus]

+1

ps: this one would work as good any other gig switch
Newegg.com - D-Link DES-108 8-Port Fast Ethernet Switch 10/100Mbps 8 x RJ45 1K MAC Address Table

It's not gigabit though. 10/100 only.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

It's not gigabit though. 10/100 only.

oops
Well, Like I said - 100 is enough to stream BR, but yea gig will go a long way if you need to copy files

Newegg.com - ASUS GX-D1081 V2 8-Port Power-Saving Gigabit Switch 10/100/1000Mbps 8 x RJ45 Up to 8K MAC Address Table 1MB Buffer Memory

 

[dwjackson]

You had me spooked for a minute.
The one I purchased is NETGEAR GS108 Desktop Switch ProSafe Gigabit Ethernet with Jumbo Frame support 10/100/1000Mbps 8 x RJ45 4,000 MAC Address Table

And this is 1000Mbps

It is all good thanks again

 

[dwjackson]

Received my NETGEAR router and the 8 Port GB switch.
Everything is working great.
Thanks for your input.